Anita Hill: Still Craving Attention After All These Years

Heather Murphy-RainesAt first Brandeis law professor Anita Hill thought it was a prank, or so she says. She received a voicemail on her work phone from someone claiming to be her old foe, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Virginia Thomas.

The message?

Good morning, Anita Hill, it's Ginny Thomas.I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day.

It brought back memories. The Anita-Clarence event happened in my formative years. I remember watching intently on the television about pubic hairs on Coke cans, said with trembling chin.

Honestly? At the time, I laughed. As did my teenage friends. How silly both of them were. My thoughts then? Grow up!

Advertisement

But back to what happened a few days ago: Anita did something just as silly. She said she felt she needed to alert the authorities about this so-called prank call. Really?

I could understand if it was threateningor expletive-laden. It was not. It was a friendly call asking for an apology. Something that took a lot of chutzpah, but certainly not something that reads malice.

My thoughts? It seems Ms. Hill has the tendency to overreact. Or maybe it's grasping for attention.

Perhaps she overreacted with Justice Clarence Thomas too? Or perhaps she liked the hot lights of the camera's attention on her during her testimony 19 years ago?

It was finally confirmed through official channels that this was indeed a legitimate call. Virginia Thomas called it "an olive branch." She said she hoped they could discuss it.

Even if it wasn’t a prank, it was in no way conciliatory for her to begin with the presumption that I did something wrong in 1991. I simply testified to the truth of my experience. For her to say otherwise is not extending an olive branch, it’s accusatory ... I don’t apologize. I have no intention of apologizing, and I stand by my testimony in 1991.

Alright, so you don't agree and don't apologize, but how about using the delete key on your voicemail rather than escalating the situation by alerting the authorities and hashing it out in the media? Hmmm ...

It seems this isn't the first time Mrs. Thomas asked for an apology, so I'm not sure why Anita thought it was a prank.

I think there’s a lot of theories, but I hope she one day calls up and apologizes and I look forward to forgiving her .... I’m sure she got swept up into something bigger than she may have understood at the beginning of whatever she was doing, but I think she owes us an apology and I look forward to receiving that phone call or that visit one day.

So wow! It seems, yes, Virginia really does think there's a Santa Claus if she thinks Ms. Hill will apologize. One of Hill's co-workers testified that she didn't see Justice Thomas' behavior as sexual harassment, but could see how other women could. Obviously, Ms. Hill is one of those other women.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the 20th anniversary of the Anita-Hill/Clarence Thomas Hearings coming up, eh? Hmmph!

I think it probably went down like this NSFW video:

So my friends, what are your thoughts? Whose side are you on 19 years later? The woman with a victim complex caught up in overreaction and milking the attention? Or was it a hostile, sexual work environment implemented by an insatiable boss? My thoughts today remain the same to all parties involved: GROW UP!